Pirates demand $7 million ransom for British couple

Somali pirates are demanding $7 million for the release of a British couple, reports the BBC.

Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, were taken hostage in the Indian Ocean on October 23. They were headed to Tanzania from the Seychelles.

A member of the group responsible for the kidnapping told the BBC that “If they do not harm us, we will not harm them.”

“We only need a little amount of $7 million,” he added.

The caller explained that the ransom was not high, and that it covered the losses they’ve incurred due to Nato’s operations in the area.

“They have destroyed a lot of equipment belonging to the poor local fishermen,” he said. “They arrest fishermen and destroy their equipment. In defiance to our local administrations, they illegally transfer the fishermen to their own prisons and prisons of other [foreign] countries.”

“So when you consider the damage and all the people affected we say the amount is not big.”